The Consultant by Bentley Little

Description
CompWare is in serious trouble after a promised merger falls through, so they do what other businesses have done to bolster their public image: they hire a consulting firm to review and streamline their business practices.

But there's something strange about the firm they hire--more specifically, the quirky gentleman who arrives to supervise the project: Mr. Patoff, tall and thin and wearing a bow tie, and with an odd smile that never quite reaches his eyes.

In his first interactions, the consultant asks a few inappropriate questions, and generally seems a nuisance. Over time, Patoff gains more power, to the point where he seems to be running the whole company. He enacts arbitrary and invasive changes to office protocol. He places cameras all over the building, making workers paranoid; he calls employees at all hours of the night, visits some of their homes and menaces their families.

People who defy the consultant get fired… or worse.

They soon realize they're not just fighting for their jobs: They're fighting for their lives.

The Consultant is a biting workplace satire, with the horrific touches only Bentley Little could provide.


In the same vein as his previous novels The Store, The Policy, The Resort etc  Bentley Little paints a horrifying (yet satirically comedic) picture of big business as an evil entity. While I did mostly enjoy this story, as a long time fan of the author I can't help but notice I'm starting to feel that he is basically writing the same book over and over. He has a formula and he sticks to it. Because of that, if you have read his previous works you may find this one a bit predictable.

The Sentinel by by Jeffrey Konvitz

Description

A New York Times Bestseller: A young woman descends into a demonic madness—only to discover that it’s not simply in her mind

Aspiring model Allison Parker finally moves into her dream apartment: a brownstone on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. But her perfect home quickly turns hellish. The building is filled with a cast of bizarre tenants, including a reclusive blind priest, who watches her day and night through an upstairs window. Eventually, Allison starts seeing things and hearing strange noises from the empty apartment above hers. Before long, she uncovers the building’s demonic secret and is plunged into a nightmare of past misdeeds and evil that knows no bounds.

From New York Times–bestselling author Jeffrey Konvitz, The Sentinel, which was adapted into a feature film starring Ava Gardner, Cristina Raines, and Chris Sarandon, is classic horror at its best.

 

 

This is a classic horror that I missed out on the first time around because I never knew it was a book. I remember seeing the movie when I was a kid or bits of it anyway but I didn't realize it was adapted from a book.

A model with a dark past moves into a great apartment with affordable rent. All is well until she meets her neighbors!

Some of the language is a bit dated but the story itself stands up to the test of time.

I would rate it 4 of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Behind Closed Doors 2 Dana's Story by A.L. Smith

Description

"The love of money is the root to all evil, but poverty and wealth are its greatest companions..." ~ A.L. Smith

Human trafficking is often considered an international phenomenon and women from third world countries are the first images that come to mind. However, “familial human trafficking” is a more intimate crime due to the dynamics of the underlying relationships. Human trafficking is one of the largest criminal entities in the country today, second only to drug trafficking, with 200,000 cases reported each year. Abject poverty, visible obscurity and other socioeconomic disparities are contributing factors. Behind Closed Doors 2 is the riveting tale of one little girl’s struggle to overcome circumstances beyond her control. Born and raised on the ruthless streets of East St Louis, Dana Toussaint was accustomed to a life of privilege, thanks to her father, a Haitian-born immigrant and notorious drug lord. Dana’s mother, a materialistic southern belle from South Louisiana, is consumed by the good life, as memories of her upbringing in an East New Orleans housing project become a distant memory. In spite of the similarities between the Haitian and Louisiana Creole cultures, the marriage unravels and the unthinkable occurs when Dana’s father abruptly abandons the family. At the age of 12, Dana becomes the ultimate sacrifice and her mother brokers the deal.

 

This story begins when Dana is a little girl of 8 and ends when she is a young woman. She is a bright girl and I went back and forth from wanting to give her a hug to wanting to shake her when she made some poor choices that I knew were going to lead to heart-ache for her.

Dana Toussaint was a reasonably happy little girl living with her parents, 2 sisters and brother, until her childhood was brutally ripped away. Now without her father in her life, her abusive mother Diana goes out of her way to make her feel like dirt. When they have to move into the housing projects Dana's siblings still get new clothes while Dana's come from the second hand stores. Dana's mother still seems to be living the good life while Dana is lucky to even get a meal. Things go from bad to worse when Diana decides she can use Dana's body to make more money for herself. This was a heart wrenching read. I would rate it 4 of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

Interior Darkness by Peter Straub

Description

Celebrated author Peter Straub's mastery of the short form shines in this wide-ranging collection of his most chilling, intense, and compelling tales from the past twenty-five years.

Peter Straub has spent forty years at the forefront of modern literary horror. The stories assembled here represent his astonishing range and his ability to terrify, transport, and hold a reader hostage.
     "Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff" is a darkly comic masterpiece in which a stern estate lawyer known as the Deacon hires a pair of "Private Detectives Extraordinaire" to investigate and seek revenge on his unfaithful wife. In "The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine," a man and his much younger lover explore their decadent and increasingly sinister fantasies on a luxurious yacht in the remotest stretch of the Amazon River. "Blue Rose" finds violence and power in the hands of the most innocent among us, leading to a conclusion that is fully surprising and devastating.
     Each story cracks the foundation of our reality and opens our eyes, taking us further and further into the darkness that normally remains deeply, and safely, hidden. Interior Darkness is the gold standard of literary horror.

 

The name fits and Peter Straub wears it well. Interior Darkness could not be more aptly titled. These stories are quite dark and I enjoyed them all. My favorites were “Blue Rose” - in which a little boy’s sadistic streak  blossoms when he finds a book on hypnosis and discovers he has a knack for it.
“Pork Pie Hat”  - a creepy tale told by a jazz musician of his last time trick or treating as a child and why he never goes out on Halloween again.
“The Buffalo Hunter”  - A man who lives more in his mind and in books than in the real world develops a strange affinity for drinking cheap vodka out of baby bottles. “Ashputtle” - About a teacher who you really wouldn’t want around your children.

I received an advance copy for review